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New White Knight Chronicles games coming to Europe on PSP and PS3
If you've been dying for more White Knight Chronicles for some reason, SCEE has got your back, simultaneously announcing European releases for both the PS3's White Knight Chronicles 2 and the PSP's White Knight Chronicles Episode Portable: Dogma Wars -- the last one being released in Europe under the much more sensible name White Knight Chronicles: Origins. American role-players eager to take control of an enormous, animate suit of armor in the desert should take heart -- though no announcement has been made as of yet about North America, it seems unlikely that Sony would localize these games without maximizing the potential for sales (which means a wide release). Besides, both PSP and PS3 games are region-free.
Professor Layton series surpasses 11 million shipments
Why does Level-5 continue making Professor Layton games? It's a mystery unworthy of even the apprentice puzzle-detective Luke Triton: they sell in large quantities. Giving an indication of how healthy those sales are, Level-5 announced that it has shipped 11.47 million copies worldwide of the four DS Layton games. Nintendo recently announced that 1.9 million copies of Unwound Future had been sold.In honor of the continued success of the series -- and the February 26 launch of the 3DS's Professor Layton and the Mask of Miracle in Japan -- Level-5 will host a live webcast on Ustream, in which staff and voice actors will give speeches and the game will be shown. This event will take place on February 24 from 7PM to 9PM Tokyo time. The first 500 listeners will even receive a Mask of Miracle charm.[Image: Inside-Games]
White Knight Chronicles: Dogma Wars trailer gets cooperative
The mobile, multiplayer-equipped White Knight Chronicles Episode.Portable: Dogma Wars recently received a debut Japanese trailer to go along with its release date announcement. Check out a few clips of the battle system, character customization and infrastructure mode posted below.
White Knight Chronicles: Dogma Wars set for February release in Japan
Level 5's franchise about big, big metal dudes is set to get a lot, lot smaller early next year: Sony has announced that the verbosely-titled PSP RPG (deep breath) White Knight Chronicles Episode.Portable: Dogma Wars (whew!) will be released in Japan on February 3, 2011. As hinted at when the franchise's first portable iteration was announced, Dogma wars will feature some connectivity with the PS3 title White Knight Chronicles: Awakening of Light and Darkness. Players can import their avatars from the console version of the game into Dogma Wars and unlock some bonus items in Light and Darkness by connecting the PSP game. Also, Dogma Wars will feature a four-player infrastructure mode, similar to the online multiplayer offered by Phantasy Star Portable 2. Sounds interesting -- we've got our giant, armored fingers crossed for the game's localization.
Level-5 files trademark for 'Akihabara Black Market'
Level-5 has filed a trademark for both the titles "Black Market" and "Akihabara Black Market," which could mean that the developer of Dark Cloud and Professor Layton might be working on a new game based in the shadier parts of Japan's real-life Akihabara "Electric Town" district, well known as a haven for gadgeteers and fanboys. Level-5 also filed a (probably unrelated) trademark for something called "Cyberanimals." These could be the titles the company is working on with Capcom, and/or they could represent projects planned for the 3DS next year. We'll have to wait and see.
Inafune: Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright a full collaboration
If you were surprised by the announcement of a Professor Layton and Phoenix Wright crossover game (WHAT), you're not the only one. Even Capcom's global head of production, Keiji Inafune, exhibited some disbelief over the adventurous collaboration in a recent interview with Japanese mag Famitsu (translated by Eurogamer). "I thought it would be impossible," he said, citing the careful handling of the Phoenix Wright character within Capcom, as well as creator Shu Takumi's insistence on trying new things (see: the upcoming Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective). "Nobody but Hino could have thought of it." Akihiro Hino, CEO of Level-5, was apparently instrumental in conceptualizing and then realizing this 3D battle of the brains. And there will be a bumping of heads between the two logic-minded protagonists, Inafune said, "before they join hands and take on a really big challenge." Whether you're rooting for the spiky hair or the fabulous top hat, you'll be happy to know that neither Capcom nor Level-5 seem satisfied with a meet-and-greet cash-in between their cherished properties. "It wasn't a case of licensing out the Phoenix Wright characters and demanding our licence money. That isn't a collaboration, and users would see that," Inafune said. "For this standalone game, we wanted to create a great history, which would have been impossible if both parties were not fully involved."
Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright ... in sales
Though Phoenix Wright and Professor Layton's first in-game face-off was just announced for 3DS, Layton has already triumphed over the plucky defense attorney in another arena: game sales. Capcom and Level-5 noted life-to-date sales for both series in the announcement of the title, and Professor Layton trounces the Ace Attorney series with 9.5 million units sold worldwide, versus Ace Attorney's 3.9 million. That 3.9 million includes a lot of versions of the same games. Since the first Phoenix Wright's release in Japan in 2001, the five games have been released on Game Boy Advance, PC, DS, mobile phones, iPhone, and WiiWare. The four Professor Layton games have only been released once each on DS, with a couple of original games on Japanese cell phones. However, Layton has Nintendo marketing behind it in the west, with Nintendo pushing the puzzle games to audiences beyond the core gamer set. Even though this game announcement was beyond effective with fanboys (we know from, um, reading comments and not personal experience at all!), the two companies still have audience expansion in mind. "We feel that by drawing upon the strengths of both series, this collaboration will bring new, casual game players to the adventure game genre and into the world of gaming in general while strengthening the value of the two brands overall."
Investigate the Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright trailer
We saw a bit of off-screen footage of the spectacularly improbable Professor Layton vs. Gyakuten Saiban this morning, but now we can see the whole thing in luscious direct feed, thanks to the now-open website. In the trailer, it appears that Professor Layton accuses a girl of being a witch, to which her lawyer characteristically objects. After that, Hershel and Phoenix (and Maya and Luke) team up and explore Labyrinth City. The website also features concept art, screens, and introduction trailers for both series. What it doesn't feature is a release date. Check out the trailer after the break.
Two more Level-5 games moving to 3DS
Level-5 showed strong support for the 3DS platform at its Level-5 Vision event. In addition to revealing Professor Layton vs. Gyakuten Saiban, showing off Professor Layton and the Mask of Miracle, and announcing Time Travelers' migration to the 3D handheld, the developer also showcased two other 3DS games, both recently moved to 3DS from other platforms. Fantasy Life, Brownie Brown's game about performing various jobs in an RPG-style town verging on apocalypse, was first announced for DS last year, but will now be released on 3DS, with a new polygonal art style, in 2011. It features contributions from Final Fantasy vets Yoshitaka Amano (doing illustrations) and Nobuo Uematsu (composing). Level-5 also announced a 3DS version of Kyaba Joppi, a hostess simulator originally for the mobile game service ROID. Andriasang has screens of this adorable game -- which, we expect, won't leave Japan. It features guest customers like Lupin III.
Level-5's Time Travelers confirmed for 3DS
And the Level-5 hits just keep coming. In addition to Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright, the company also confirmed that its previously announced Time Travelers will indeed be released on the 3DS. There aren't many new details about the game, with Siliconera reporting that a trailer was shown during Level-5's Vision 2010 event in Japan. The game apparently involves the exploits of a young girl and a terrorist, both of whom have knowledge of future events. The game will have an involving story and marks the first time that project collaborator Jiro Ishii has worked with CG instead of anime art or live actors. Release date and pricing are still trapped in the future for now. Head over to Famitsu for a handful of images. Update: Check out off-screen footage of the trailer after the break! (Thanks, Fernando)
Professor Layton and the Mask of Miracle to offer daily downloadable puzzles
Level-5 is expanding the Professor Layton franchise into 3D with the new Mask of Miracle, but that added dimension isn't the only expansion taking place in this game. During the Level-5 Vision conference, CEO Akihiro Hino announced that the new 3DS puzzle title will have daily downloadable puzzles for a year. Previous Layton games have had weekly puzzles available through the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. (And if you didn't know that, you suddenly have a bunch of bonus puzzles waiting in your Layton games!)Hino also noted that Mask of Miracle was originally developed -- and announced -- as a DS game, but added, "We redid it from scratch midway through." He also revealed that the story takes place across two timelines, with a younger Professor Layton and the present-day (in the game's world) version both solving puzzles.
Professor Layton meets Phoenix Wright in crossover 3DS game
Professor Layton VS Gyakuten saiban -- the Japanese name for a new crossover 3DS game that features both Phoenix Wright and Professor Layton -- was revealed last night by Level-5 during a press conference in Tokyo. The game is being developed in collaboration with Capcom, though Ace Attorney creator Shu Takumi will be heading up writing. It appears that this marks the beginning of Level-5 and Capcom's much teased collaboration, and one of the four surprise titles Level-5 said it would reveal during its Vision 2010 event currently taking place in Japan. 1UP's liveblog details the gameplay of Professor Layton VS Gyakuten saiban as a "combination of puzzles and crime mystery," while Level-5 president Akihiro Hino characterizes the collaboration by comparing it to "two TV shows getting together and making a movie." The game's official website is scheduled to open officially on October 20, but we've embedded a shaky cam video of the reveal trailer after the break, courtesy of 8-4's Mark MacDonald.%Gallery-105411%
Level-5 to announce 4 new projects at 'Vision' event later this month
Level-5 plans to reveal four unannounced games at its annual "Vision" event on October 19. The Japanese publisher teased as much on its official Vision 2010 website (pictured), which features four question-marked spots. Could one (or more) of these mystery projects be related to the "truly interesting things" the publisher is working on with Capcom? Oh the suspense!Tempering the teaser, the site also confirms a number of Level-5 games that will definitely be showcased -- from Ni no Kuni on both PS3 and DS to Professor Layton and the Mask of Miracle for 3DS.
Professor Layton and the Mask of Miracle 3DS trailer marches into action
If you've wondered how the meticulous puzzle-solving "action" of the Professor Layton franchise would be bolstered by the 3DS' extra dimension, you may want to check out the Mask of Miracle trailer posted below. You know what looks great in 3D, we bet? Big, beautifully illustrated parades.
See Level-5's opulent offices
Would you like to see how you'd be living if you had created Professor Layton and Inazuma Eleven instead of doing whatever you've been doing? Level-5 has posted a photo tour of its Fukuoka headquarters, revealing basically the nicest-looking office ever. At a time when other Japanese publishers are hurting (in denial), Level-5 has been able to continue expanding, while keeping its employees in luxurious working environment. Show-offs. After seeing this office, we're thinking that it might be worth any American game industry job seekers' time to keep an eye out for the opening of Level-5 International America.
Level-5 president on making a better Professor Layton for America
With millions of copies sold, Level-5's Professor Layton franchise is an unquestionable hit. Already, the property has spawned one feature-length film, and is expanding to its fifth game in Japan. (The Unwound Future, which was released two weeks ago in America, is the third game in the series.) Who could have predicted the runaway success of the series? Not even Level-5's president, Akihiro Hino, could have seen it coming.In an exclusive interview, Hino told us that "I obviously didn't imagine the series would achieve the success it has." But, he attributes the franchise's achievements to Level-5's goal to "make an adventure game that anyone could play." Given the popularity of the games, Hino finds it unsurprising that a number of copycats have since followed, such as Puzzle Agent and Blue Toad Murder Files. "Doesn't it follow that if a game gets popular enough, similar games will start to appear?," he asked us.Nintendo eventually picked up the publishing rights for a North American release, which posed a number of challenges for the localization team. Hino admits that the first game was developed "without much consideration" for international audiences. As such, "we have had to alter and even remove certain puzzles," Hino explained to us. "The reason is usually due to their use of Japanese, or because a puzzle or joke would work in some regions but not in others. Ways of thinking, language, culture, and even religion differ from region to region, so we remove puzzles we feel wouldn't work, and try to replace them with puzzles that players from that market will enjoy."%Gallery-95768%
Level-5's Jiro Ishii working 'with Takumi-san' on Ace Attorney project
Jiro Ishii directed the "sound novel" 428 for Chunsoft, and is now at Level-5 working on Time Travelers. He's also working with Capcom, on one of the Level-5/Capcom collaborations teased by Keiji Inafune -- a new Ace Attorney game. "Huh? Ah, Gyakuten ○○. I'm working on it with Takumi-san," Ishii tweeted, as translated by Siliconera. "Gyakuten" ("Turnabout") is present in each game's title so far: "Gyakuten Saiban" (Turnabout Judgment) for the original Ace Attorney games, and "Gyakuten Kenji" (Turnabout Prosecutor) for the Investigations series. While it's interesting enough that an adventure game expert from Level-5 and Chunsoft would be working on an Ace Attorney game, there are two more parts of that tweet that we want to press. Ishii obscured the last half of the title, suggesting that it's not Ace Attorney Investigations 2, but rather something unannounced, with a new title. Furthermore, he said he's working with "Takumi-san," likely series creator Shu Takumi, who hasn't been directly involved with the games since Apollo Justice. Which also suggests it's a new game. We'll be in our office reviewing the case files until more evidence comes to light.
Danbol Senki preview: Virtual-On Jr.
I don't know why I'd be surprised about a Level-5 game being fun. Aside from a few missteps, the company is one of the most consistently great developers in Japan, with the sales to prove it. And yet, I was only driven to try out the PSP game Danbol Senki when I noticed that it had no line at the Level-5 booth, and I was not at all expecting to be won over as I was.
Capcom and Level-5 partner up for 'truly interesting things'
Even Capcom's Keiji Inafune can agree that the Japanese game industry isn't as "dead" as he says ... as long as Level-5 is around. He's struck up a partnership with Level-5 CEO Akihiro Hino. "Even though Mr. Hino is younger, he's someone I respect," Inafune said. The two companies are "working together on some truly interesting things," Inafune told Diamond Online (according to Andriasang's translation). Inafune said he respects Hino's work ethic, to the point that, "Before I met Hino, I had confidence in the amount of work I was doing, and even thought that maybe I was the hardest working person in the game industry. But after meeting him, I thought I'm probably not number one." The Level-5 head is looking for other ways for his (already mega-rich) company to grow. "Next year or maybe the year after that, we'd like to have Level-5 exhibit at E3," Hino said. "While it's recently become normal for us to exhibit at the Tokyo Game Show, to exhibit at E3 we feel that we have one more mountain to cross." He also expressed an interest in taking Level-5 public.
Ni no Kuni (DS) preview: Turn the page
Ni no Kuni: The Jet-Black Mage on DS hasn't changed much since I saw it at last year's TGS, but a new demo allowed me a chance to (attempt to) use the game's spellbook accessory. It also offered me a shot at my first boss battle, which subsequently forced me to learn a bit more about the battle system. Read on for my impressions. %Gallery-102412%
